Conventional seals for movable window panes in automotive vehicles generally include a plurality of individual sealing strips including, for example, individual glass runs, header, and inner and outer beltstrips. The assembly process for conventional movable window seals is generally cumbersome and time consuming, requiring the separate sequential attachment of each individual sealing strip to the window opening of the vehicle. In addition, the use of a plurality of individual sealing strips to seal a single window opening often results in gaps between adjacent edges of individual sealing strips. Gaps between adjacent sealing strips are undesirable because they are aesthetically unpleasing, and can often allow water and air leakage, along with the noise and draftiness associated with air leakage.
Another disadvantage with conventional seals for movable window panes in automotive vehicles is that the sealing strips are generally extruded and therefore have a constant cross sectional shape and size, thereby effectively restricting the contours of doors utilizing such sealing strips to relatively simple geometric structures which are substantially free of offsets, indentations, and the like in the window opening.
The dimensional reproducibility of extruded articles is also unfavorable, with typical dimensional variations being about .+-.4 percent. Variations of this magnitude can result in unsightly discontinuities between adjacent installed sealing strips, and can lead to waste due to the rejection of sealing strips having intolerable dimensional variations.
In addition to assembly problems which result in high labor expenditures and problems relating to gaps in the assembled seal, a relatively large number of steps are required during the production and handling of all of the individual sealing strips, especially when the individual sealing strips required for a window opening are different from one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,463 to Schroder et al. discloses a window frame for movable windows in automotive vehicles. The frame is an extruded rubber profile comprising a pair of sealing strips which are connected as one piece by a connecting bridge which rests against the edge of a window. The connecting bridge is separated from the sealing strip in the region of the lower edge of the window cutout to enable passage of the movable window pane. The window frame has ends which are butted and butt vulcanized, thereby eliminating gaps in the seal. The window frame disclosed by Schroder et al., however, has substantially all of the other disadvantages associated with extruded sealing strips, including limitations relating to constant cross sectional shape and size, and relatively high dimensional variations. In addition, the butt vulcanized joint will tend to have an unpleasant appearance. The frame and seal assembly of Schroder et al., like other extruded weather sealing strips, are not readily adaptable to accommodate complex window contours having offsets, indentations and the like.
Accordingly, a weather seal assembly having a continuous closed-loop structure which is free of gaps and which does not require any butt vulcanizing or other jointing steps during installation, thereby simplifying manufacturing and installation while providing a better appearance and allowing for adaptation to complex window contours, would be highly desirable.